I just figured out that my Congressman, Charlie Wilson, was one of the few Democrats to vote against the recent stem cell bill that passed in the house. Not off to a good start, that's for sure.
Read More: House Passes Bill Relaxing Limits on Stem Cell Research - washingtonpost.com
Ted Strickland's inauguration speech has been transcribed and posted at the inauguration committee's website.
Read More: Ted Strickland's Inauguration Speech and a nod to BSB for finding it.
Today I finally got around to watching Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and I've got to say that it really strikes home. I actually even made a trip through the house to turn off all the lights that didn't need to be on.
Today I also saw this news story through several different sources. A religious nut in Washington state has persuaded her local school district not to show the move to students because it isn't accurate. Why isn't it accurate? Because "the Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD".
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — The school board in this suburb south of Seattle has restricted showings of Al Gore's movie on global warming, including requiring that it be balanced with an adequate opposing viewpoint.
The board also required Superintendent Tom Murphy to approve when the former vice president's film, "An Inconvenient Truth," can be presented.
The decision was sparked by complaints from parents who said their children were taking the film as fact after viewing it at school.
"Condoms don't belong in school, and neither does Al Gore. He's not a schoolteacher," said Frosty Hardison, a parent of seven children who doesn't want the film shown at all.
"The information that's being presented is a very cockeyed view of what the truth is," Hardison told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "The Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD."
Source: firstamendmentcenter.org: news
It sure took a lot longer than I thought it would, but my prediction that the "Doomsday Clock" would be changed is finally about to come true. Next Wednesday the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, the group that manages the clock, will move the hands on the clock to reflect "worsening nuclear, climate threats".
A full list of past changes to the clock can be found at Wikipedia.
Source: Scientists prepare to move Doomsday Clock forward - Yahoo! News
With the expected rain threatening to move the events inside and the prospect of spending six hours driving through said rain, I probably won't be driving to Columbus for Strickland's inauguration tomorrow. The inclement weather won't be enough to stop one determined group from traveling all the way from Kansas though. Fred Phelps and his marry band of preaching homophobes will be making the trip to protest Ted's support of homosexuals and showing off the bad side of the first amendment.
Their flier announcing the picket states in large, bold text that "Strickland has incurred the wrath of God, Ohio may expect God's irreversible curse". Does that mean they plan on setting up shop in Ohio? That'd be the worse curse I could imagine.
Could someone tell them to go to hell for me? I'd greatly appreciate it. You also might also try welcoming them to what they call "OHIO - LAND OF THE SODOMITE DAMNED".
Read More: Pho's Akron Pages: Fred Phelps to Picket Strickland Inagural
This was sent out to his email list last night.
Dear Mr. President: Send Even MORE Troops (and you go, too!) ...from Michael Moore
1/10/07
Dear Mr. President,
Thanks for your address to the nation. It's good to know you still want to talk to us after how we behaved in November.
Listen, can I be frank? Sending in 20,000 more troops just ain't gonna do the job. That will only bring the troop level back up to what it was last year. And we were losing the war last year! We've already had over a million troops serve some time in Iraq since 2003. Another few thousand is simply not enough to find those weapons of mass destruction! Er, I mean... bringing those responsible for 9/11 to justice! Um, scratch that. Try this -- BRING DEMOCRACY TO THE MIDDLE EAST! YES!!!
You've got to show some courage, dude! You've got to win this one! C'mon, you got Saddam! You hung 'im high! I loved watching the video of that -- just like the old wild west! The bad guy wore black! The hangmen were as crazy as the hangee! Lynch mobs rule!!!
Look, I have to admit I feel very sorry for the predicament you're in. As Ricky Bobby said, "If you're not first, you're last." And you being humiliated in front of the whole world does NONE of us Americans any good.
Sir, listen to me. You have to send in MILLIONS of troops to Iraq, not thousands! The only way to lick this thing now is to flood Iraq with millions of us! I know that you're out of combat-ready soldiers -- so you have to look elsewhere! The only way you are going to beat a nation of 27 million -- Iraq -- is to send in at least 28 million! Here's how it would work:
The first 27 million Americans go in and kill one Iraqi each. That will quickly take care of any insurgency. The other one million of us will stay and rebuild the country. Simple.
Now, I know you're saying, where will I find 28 million Americans to go to Iraq? Here are some suggestions:
1. More than 62,000,000 Americans voted for you in the last election (the one that took place a year and half into a war we already knew we were losing). I am confident that at least a third of them would want to put their body where there vote was and sign up to volunteer. I know many of these people and, while we may disagree politically, I know that they don't believe someone else should have to go and fight their fight for them -- while they hide here in America.
2. Start a "Kill an Iraqi" Meet-Up group in cities across the country. I know this idea is so early-21st century, but I once went to a Lou Dobbs Meet-Up and, I swear, some of the best ideas happen after the third mojito. I'm sure you'll get another five million or so enlistees from this effort.
3. Send over all members of the mainstream media. After all, they were your collaborators in bringing us this war -- and many of them are already trained from having been "embedded!" If that doesn't bring the total to 28 million, then draft all viewers of the FOX News channel.
Mr. Bush, do not give up! Now is not the time to pull your punch! Don't be a weenie by sending in a few over-tired troops. Get your people behind you and YOU lead them in like a true commander in chief! Leave no conservative behind! Full speed ahead!
We promise to write. Go get 'em W!
Yours,
Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
www.michaelmoore.com
I think he makes his view pretty clear.
After a long pause the Democrats have selected Denver to host the next Democratic National Convention. The venue will be the Pepsi Center and the convention is scheduled for August 25th through the 28th in 2008.
New York City had also been under consideration.
Read More: Democrats pick Denver for 2008 convention | Politics News | Reuters.com
Ohio's own Sherrod Brown has thrown his two cents into the troop escalation in Iraq through an entry at Huffington Post. Link below.
Ohio families demand accountability and that is what they deserve. Congress will hold hearings to investigate millions in taxpayer dollars misspent on opportunistic contractors. No longer will we allow emergency supplementals that under-equip our troops, fund failed policies, and bust the budget. And we will work to ensure that every dollar allocated is spent on protecting troops on the ground, bringing them home, and on responsible reconstruction, not on unsound and impractical escalation.
--Sherrod Brown
Read More: The Blog | Sen. Sherrod Brown: Same Product, New Package | The Huffington Post
Presidential hopeful John Edwards has sent out an email today urging people to contact their Congressmen and encourage them to deny funding a troop escalation in Iraq. The first paragraph alone shows how Edwards is preparing for his 2008 run.
Tonight, President Bush is expected to adopt the McCain Doctrine and announce his plan to send up to 20,000 more troops to Iraq. That is a grave mistake.
John Edwards has a website set up at johnedwards.com.
This is sure to send the the Right Angle blog people into a fit of blind rage. George Voinovich is speaking out against the White House's plan for a troop surge. Maybe he's a little worried about his job security since DeWine's fall.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. George Voinovich, a Republican from Ohio and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Wednesday he is "skeptical" an increase in Iraq troop levels is the right strategy to pursue.
"At this point I am skeptical that a surge in troops alone will bring an end to sectarian violence and the insurgency that is fomenting instability in Iraq," Voinovich said in a statement. "The generals who have served there do not believe additional troops alone will help. And my faith in Prime Minister al-Maliki's political will to make the hard choices necessary to bring about a political solution is fragile at best."
Source: CNN.com - CNN Political Ticker
This topic may not be on the same level as previous "Define Irony" posts, but it allows me to shame Newsweek for trying to pull such an obvious scam.
While checking the mail today I came across a typical junk mail letter from Newsweek. I've never subscribed to Newsweek or any other news magazine, preferring to read my news online, and until today had never received any junk mail from them. I have picked up the magazine a few times from bookstores though so I decided to see what they were offering.
Amazingly enough I was considered a professional and thus was eligible for the professional rate of only $20 a year. A nice little math problem showed how this professional rate would save me $223.00 a year! How lucky can one guy get? All I had to do was get back to them in 5 days or risk losing my professional discount.
Who would be crazy enough to pass on what surely must be the deal of the century? Me, just to name one. Out of curiosity though I decided to go look up the regular subscription rate. Low and behold it was $20 a year. I just wonder how many "Professionals" fell for this scam?
South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson is now listed as being in "fair" condition four weeks after suffering stroke-like symptoms caused bleeding in his brain. He had been listed as in critical condition.
Read More: Senator's condition upgraded after brain surgery - CNN.com
Ted Strickland's Gubernatorial website is live at last. I'm not really sure how long it's actually been up as my last check was at around 3 A.M. when I finally called it a night.
Right now it seems rather plain. I expect that new or updated version of the website (hopefully with RSS feeds) will be rolled out at a later date and that this one is meant to serve as a placeholder until it goes up. I also noticed that the traditional URL http://governor.ohio.gov/ redirects to http://governor2.ohio.gov/ which may or may not signify anything. It's probably so that links to pages on Taft's site will still work.
As for the man himself, it seem's that he's getting right to business. He's even vetoed a bill already.
Veto Message
STATEMENT OF THE REASONS FOR THE VETO OF AMENDED SUBSITUTE SENATE BILL 117 from the 126th GENERAL ASSEMBLY
January 8, 2007
Under Article II, Section 16 of the Ohio Constitution, the Governor may veto any bill. I am vetoing Amended Substitute Senate Bill 117 for the following reasons.
Amended Substitute Senate Bill 117 greatly weakens current protections provided to consumers in the State of Ohio. This effort to amend the Consumer Sales Practices Act and arbitrarily limit awards to victims for noneconomic damages to only $5,000 does not allow consumers defrauded by companies to seek appropriate justice.
While weakening protections for consumers, at the same time the bill strengthens protections for companies that may have been responsible for products that have harmed and even continue to harm children and others in Ohio. This prevents cities from being able to seek justice on behalf of their citizens.
I will not allow this legislation in its current form, which drastically undermines current consumer protections, to go into effect during my administration.
I have signed this veto message on January 8, 2007 in Columbus, Ohio.
_____________________________
Ted Strickland, GovernorThis will acknowledge the receipt of a copy of this veto message of Amended Substitute Senate Bill 117 that was disapproved by Governor Ted Strickland on January 8, 2007.
______________________________
Name and Title of Officer
______________________________
Date and Time of Receipt
Ann Block, former deputy director for the Monroe County Board of Elections, starts her new job as a field representative for secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.
She will work with the Board of Elections from Belmont, Monroe, Harrison, Jefferson, Washington, Noble, Morgan and Athens counties and report Columbus several times a month.
The Times Leader | Monroe Co. woman gets appointment as field rep
No one is safe, Dick Cheney is hunting again.
This time it's too close for comfort as his current killing field hunting ground is only about 100 miles from my home in a straight line.
Oh, and did I mention the place is named after a brewery?
It's official, Bob Taft is now just a plain old idiot.
In what surely must be the biggest Ohio news story of the day (There's nothing else going on today, right? I seem to remember thinking that there might be. Oh well, I'm sure I would've remembered if it was important.), Ted Strickland has been sworn in as Governor.
I just saw a little clip on HuffPo about this and decided to look into it a little. The URL Edwards08.com redirect to HillaryClinton.com rather than JohnEdwards.com.
It turns out that the domain was registered by Mike Davis of North Carolina all the way back on 2/19/04. The registration was through GoDaddy and expires on 2/19/08 assuming it isn't renewed.
Source: Huffington Post
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